When it comes to considering the toughest sports out there, motocross rarely makes the list. If you find for us at least one article (non-motocross related) that mentions dirt bike heads among the fittest athletes, just hit us up and we’ll grant you a unique discount code if we’re wrong. Here at the OMX team, we had this discussion recently after one hell of a ride. As we sat there treating our sore muscles with a few bottles of beer, we honestly could not remember another discipline or training that had drained us as much as shredding dirt that night. And we do have basketball players, amateur boxers and a few other badass colleagues among us. Therefore, as we sat there we started to wonder. Could motocross really be one of the toughest sports out there?
People somehow think that kicking each other’s teeth out in a boxing ring or running at a solid gazelle’s speed is harder. Don’t get us wrong, we don’t doubt them! Even more, sometimes even heading to a grocery store after wife’s request feels like an Olympic discipline that should also be awarded with a medal. Therefore, it’s hard to evaluate what kind of sport activities has the most gruelling athletes. What can be easily done by Usain Bolt seems like a mission impossible to us. And vice versa – we believe that top marathon runners would feel quite awkward on a dirt bike. At least for the first few times.
When it comes to MX riding, some smart-asses tend to think that we’re just sitting on a bike and steering it to the right way. In other words, something that could be done by any couch potato. But we don’t like to rely on speculations so we made the effort and gathered some scientific facts that prove how demanding dirt bike riding really is.
What Do Experts Say?
One of the earliest studies that was conducted in 1979 compared athletes from various sports. That included American football, wrestling, soccer, basketball, gymnastics, marathon runners and more. And yes, motocross riders were among them. There are different reports found online about the results. However, most of them included motocross as one of the highest scoring sports in multiple fitness tests that were conducted. Of course, these results are more than 40 years old so they were followed by other studies done just recently. Another research was done by Finnish experts. They found out that MX rider’s aerobic endurance was pushed to the limits. Heart rate and respiration was pushed to the maximum almost the entire time of a ride.
Motocross On Your Heart
Many people find it hard to believe that motocross demands a lot from the rider. That is until that person gets on a dirt bike for the first time himself. One test evaluated the results of Supercross riders. As it turned out, the average heart rate of these riders reached 94 percent of their maximum heart rate. Not to mention, this much strain and pressure that is being put on your heart clearly qualifies motocross as one of the most physically demanding sports. There was another study conducted that tested motocross riders in particular. In a test that was done for a group of nine riders, experts evaluated two races that lasted 30 minutes. And again, the riders on average reached 95 percent of their maximum heart rate.
Motocross On Your Stamina
If someone doubts the physical requirements of motocross, just remind how heavy a dirt bike actually is. Most of them weigh about 200 lbs. Of course, you don’t have to carry this weight on your back but that doesn’t mean that it gets any easier. Keeping this dirt beast in a track is heavy work – it requires a lot of physical endurance. And don’t forget all the conditions you have to ride through. There is obstacles, mud, dirt, and you need to navigate all of it smoothly. Dirt bike riders put their bodies through a physical strain every time they ride.
Motocross On Your Muscles
Dirt bike riding can easily be considered as a whole-body workout. From upper to lower body, it would be hard to find a muscle group that is not under pressure during a ride. No wonder many riders go to a gym just to get MX-ready. Having a good posture is impossible if one is not working on a core strength. The same goes for shoulders and arms. As you can already imagine, it would be quite hard to control the bike and ride smoothly over difficult obstacles without arm strength. Not to mention, throughout a course rider will be elevated for most of the time. That affects leg muscles directly and makes every dirt bike ride a solid leg day.
Having Dope Motocross Graphics Definitely Can Help
Another obstacle a rider must consider is a mental pressure. Motocross definitely is a quest for stress resistance. Many riders fail not because of a lack of physical fitness, but they give up in front of tough emotions and stress. So where does dirt bike graphics come in here? As you already know, everything feels better when we look better. The same goes for dirt bikes. If you’re working so hard towards your goals, why not reward yourself with the finest dirt bike graphics? No wonder so many riders already apply world championship-ready MX graphics on their bikes. This hobby truly takes the most of us both physically and mentally so it feels only right to reward ourselves for that.
References:
https://www.topendsports.com